Experience, Technology, Energy. Those are key qualities you will not worry about when you bring your Real Estate needs to 'TEAMRUTA' at Coldwell Banker Heritage Real Estate.
If you're used to having one agent working for you, know that now you'll have three close knit family 
members actively involved in your needs. All licensed and in the real estate business now, with experience approaching 40 years. Combine that with the historic power and national image of Coldwell Banker and you have access to an unbeatable team.
Are you a seller? If so, rest assured that we utilize some of the latest technology to market your property and our goal is to put it in front of as many online faces as possible. We do the standard, but we go above that by focusing on new technology such as Facebook, ActiveRain, Realtor.COM, Trulia, Zillow, and classified web sites like Craigslist or Kijiji. We also dramatically enhance our listings with technology such as RealEstateShows. If your agent still insists on advertising in newspapers and using other outdated techniques, maybe you better read this recent blog of ours: THE #2 REASON YOUR LISTING DOES NOT SELL!
If you are looking to buy, the technology gets even better, as we also configure and setup a client side auto-prospecting system, just for YOU, within our local MLS. The instant ANY Realtor inputs a new listing into the MLS system, if it fits your search criteria, you and 'TeamRuta' immediately get an email notification....even if it's 3am in the morning!
Our goal is to not only provide the highest quality overall Real Estate service, but to give sellers the single most exposure online when it comes to listing their property.
Did you know that the 2008 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found almost 90% of home buyers are starting their search for a home online? With a statistic such as that, one which grows every year, it's paramount for home sellers to realize the need for their listing to appear in as many places as possible. With 'TEAMRUTA' and Coldwell Banker Heritage Real Estate you can cross off that worry.
When it comes to buying real estate, we also know that buyers require top notch service and more importantly, the latest tools, to seek out and find what they are looking for in a new home. When you come on board with 'TEAMRUTA' you can rest assured that every conceivable aspect of online listing research will be taken into consideration when searching for your next purchase.
Meet Our Team - View Our Mission
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Mission Statement: Coldwell Banker Heritage's goal is to provide superior customer service for the "total real estate experience." Whether our clients are buying or selling residential or commercial real estate, need title or mortgage, we have the best people, with the most advanced tools, to get the job done.
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Contact Us Today! - View Our Listings!
Coldwell Banker Heritage Real Estate
4030 William Penn Highway
Easton PA, 18045
PHONE: 610-250-8880 x466
DIRECT CELL: 610-737-2310
team@teamruta.com
www.teamruta.com
Serving Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and
Surrounding Communities of The Lehigh Valley Area of Pennsylvania
During my daily 'Expireds Watch' I came across a perfect example of just how inept some Realtors have become within the current world of Real Estate.
This simply blows my mind.
Property Description:
Roomy, updated cape cod home on over an acre. Large ultra modern eat in kitchen. Huge LR/DR area plus extra LR/FR. 1st floor bath & bedroom. Air conditioning and furnace 2 years old. In ground pool off of kitchen. Replacement windows, 2 car detached plus 1 car detached garage, plus an attached carport. Country living at an affordable price.
The home was on the market for 190 Days.
And...*drumroll*... the pictures with the listing at the time it expired:
TADA!!!!
Surely...once it's relisted, they'll add more photos??? The description SCREAMS out in despair for more pictures!!! They MUST get it right second time around??? RIGHT??? Let's see what's there now!!!
24 Hours Later...relisted...by the SAME agent:
WOW...what a change!
Where are the pictures of the LARGE ULTRA MODERN kitchen???? How about the HUGE LIVING ROOM AND DINING ROOM??? Let me see the EXTRA LIVING ROOM AND FAMILY ROOM!?!?!?! What about the 2 DETACHED GARAGES?!?!!?! What about BEDROOMS???? Umm..most people want to see them too, right???
Looks like another 190 days awaits. I tell ya, if it wasn't relisted immediately, it would have been a primary target in my books.
How this type of stuff continues is mind-boggling. Open your eyes if you are looking for new business, especially with expireds. Sometimes all you need to do is look for photos, or should I say, LACK OF PHOTOS!!!
What do you think the first thing to go through the consumer's mind will be when they see this???
'Hmmm...the house must be a total MESS to not show the inside.'
I know I would definitely come to that conclusion and I've heard many people state the same exact thing when they are telling me about properties they have looked through. I can't believe how many experienced agents still let this stuff happen. This example is from someone with close to 30 years in the business. It is quite amazing....and quite sad.
If you can get to a listing like this, before it relists...you've got one helluva advantage right at the door. Explaining the need for photos should be a no-brainer. Documentation is all over the Internet about the importance of photos and Real Estate listings. Find those sources, use them, and wake up these sellers!!!!
Finally, all I can say, from what am seeing in our MLS, I can only assume it's a national example as well. Keep your guns ready, and spot these targets...because you're going to have plenty of opportunities coming your way if this trend continues.
That's right, # 2. It's time to focus on what I believe is the SECOND biggest reason homes sit on the market. We all should know what # 1 is, PRICE, and there's already plenty of explanations out there concerning why price is numero uno. Find some of those HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. So instead of shooting a dead horse, I hope to make a case for 2nd place! And who might be the winner of a fabulous NUMBER 2 prize??
MARKETING!!!!
To help you understand the power of reason # 2, let's take a good look at a recent list of expired listings that popped up in the wonderful ole MLS system. This chart will help explain the first of three powerful reasons marketing is so important.
1. PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES - Without a doubt the single biggest reason, outside of price, that your property doesn't move. It should be crystal clear to a trained eye, that within this small list above, there is one shining example of how to almost GUARANTEE your property will generate ZERO interest. I don't even know where to begin when I see this occur, DAILY....but let's try:
You should immediately spot three listings with a whopping 1 picture. I'm sorry, but there are absolutely no excuses for this. NONE. I don't care what the seller says, what the property looks like outside, what the price is, or if inside it looks like World War III just ended. A one picture listing doesn't even compute in the mind of today's online buyer. Your seller needs to understand that fact clearly. When the consumer hits that listing online, on the MLS, wherever, that one picture yells, in their own mind, a HUGE negative word:
If you can't convince the seller to clean up their mess (which is USUALLY the reason for a one picture listing), or at the very least ORGANIZE the mess into a big heap, you should seriously consider whether or not the listing is worth taking in the first place. Even if the place is empty, but a total disaster internally, you still TAKE THE PICTURES. Consumers are more likely to look at the house, even if it's a slop heap...if it has more than one photo. You at least generate the possibility someone will view the home and it's structure with an open mind. They will see the innards, mess and all, damage, etc., and true buyers will envision the house as what it COULD be.
When you show buyers nothing but a single picture, the entire emotional experience, the dreaming about this room and that room, is gone in an instant, and I don't care if you write a 18 paragraph description that could win you a Pulitzer.....no extra photos...and crickets is what you are going to get.
Finally, for the love of Pete don't think that teasing the buyer is smart. That is taking only 5 or 6 pictures hoping to entice someone to see more. Are you kidding me? Those days are over. The mind set of a consumer is they'll get in their GPS enabled car and drive to the listing FIRST before they call you.
Yes they will do that.
TAKE THE PICTURES!!! Nothing disturbs me more when I see a $400,000+ listing with less pictures than a $90,000 listing. If you can't take 20 pictures of a house, what the heck are you doing??? Do you know how to use a digital camera??? A safe number is 15-20, maybe even pushing 30 if the house demands it, specifically via different angles, outside features, etc.
Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer. You would want lots of pictures, wouldn't you?
2. THE MLS IS ALL THAT MATTERS - It strikes me as stunning when I hear other agents state that as long as their listing is in the MLS system, there's no other need for marketing online. Most of the time I find out that they simply have no desire to expand their online exposure or more than likely, literally have NO IDEA how to expand their marketing.
If you're a consumer one of the first questions you should ask your agent BEFORE you list with them, is SHOW ME where my home will appear online once you list it. If the agent cannot sit down at a computer and either show your personally or EMAIL you at least 5 EXTRA sites, outside of the MLS, company website, and national website......you need to move onto another agent.
Here's just a FEW websites you should be in touch with.
(If these don't look familiar, it's time you re-invent yourself.)
It's critical that a listing gets exposure in as many online spots as necessary. If you can't deliver that to the consumer, you're in the wrong business.
3. USING OUTDATED TECHNIQUES - It blows my mind to no end how many agents continue to push for and continue to believe in dated marketing techniques. Newspaper ads still run rampant in the papers, agents are still mailing out 4000+ holiday magnets, and many continue to ignore the need to embrace things like Facebook, blogging, or personal e-marketing. Sure, some of these 'old' techniques still turn up a golden nugget from time to time, but you'll find less of these shining star stories popping up than in years past.
Newspapers are legitimately dying...and i predict that 2009 will be a telling year for their overall decline. Many have already made drastic changes or gone almost completely under. Magazines are starting to turn to digital editions and newspapers have already stopped home delivery in some states. If you're still hooked on newspapers, it's time you wake up.
Sure there are still people who would explode without their daily coffee and back porch relaxing moment with the dead tree in their hands....but anyone younger than 35 still reading the newspaper is an enigma. It is important for you to realize that these younger generations are the people who will be your largest customers in less than 5 years, if not sooner.
Relying on old methods and not expanding your knowledge into the need to be online savvy, into social networks like Facebook, or keeping in touch with your customers with an e-newsletter...not doing those...will eventually put you in line with the dinosaurs.
Adapt or die. It will eventually be that simple and focusing only on marketing the 'old' way will guarantee your eventual extinction.
It may not be sudden, it may not be a killer newspaper asteroid that wipes you out, but it will be a slow menacing walk into the shadows if you don't come out of the dark ages and embrace what's only now just starting to drastically shape this industry.
Late last night, to the horror of my eyes, I discovered that our beautiful new kitchen granite countertop had somehow become stained in multiple areas with what appeared to be some form of red color!
It took me a few minutes to calm down, but I realized that the previous day we had strawberry dessert with our dinner. Somehow the darn mess must have eluded my wife and I once we cleaned up and went to bed. So, there, in front of my eyes, roughly 24 hours later stood this bright red cluster of red spots sunken into our beautiful new kitchen counter, hideously laughing at me as I attempted all I knew trying to clean the redness away.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, we attempted to use managed to even budge the stain away. The professional granite cleaner, soap and water, and hardcore rubbing of the sponge or towel. NADDA. Hell, I even SPIT on the damn stain. YUCK! (yeah, that didn't work either)
After about 20 minutes of head pounding frustration I thought of only one possibility, GOOGLE. I went ballistic online searching for tips on cleaning granite, specifically stains related to wine or fruit.
What I found was astounding, and it worked like a CHAMP!!
What could this miracle cleaning cure be you ask????
PLASTER OF PARIS (molding plaster) and BLEACH
THAT"S IT!!! Simply mix a little bit of the Plaster of Paris, available at any hardware store, with a little bit of bleach until you get a good paste. You don't want the paste too watery and you don't want it too thick. A little runny will do, but not so thin it doesn't scoop up with a spoon. I'd recommend using an old glass dish for mixing, as you can easily clean it afterwords with warm water, even if the plaster hardens.
***IMPORTANT!!!! DO NOT THROW THE UNUSED PLASTER MIX DOWN THE DRAIN OR TOILET. I highly recommend just dumping it into a garbage can bag or tossing it some other way that doesn't not involve your plumbing.***
Once you have enough to cover your stain, just plop some on and wait approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take a very wet sponge and wipe away the hardened plaster. I held my breath during the first application, but I must admit, this literally cleaned up everything!!! One of our stains took 3 applications to get up, but low and behold eventually the red stain was gone!!!
There you have it!!! According to what I read this works great on wine stains and fruit stains. Hopefully this comes in handy for anyone who may have an unfortunate granite countertop spill of this nature to deal with. The sheer ease of cleaning it was astounding and I would have never guessed it would work!
Experience, Technology, and Energy - parts of our business that you will not worry about when you bring your real estate needs to 'TEAMRUTA' at Coldwell Banker Heritage Real Estate.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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